Ijad Madisch, ResearchGate: Building the World's Largest Scientific Community

About this episode

Ijad Madisch is a phenomenon in the German startup scene. From Berlin, he built ResearchGate into the largest community for scientists, enabling researchers to share scientific papers and accelerate research progress. Today, ResearchGate ranks among the world's 150 largest websites with over 20 million users.

Attracting Top-Tier Investors

Madisch's journey attracted impressive investors: Matt Cohler (then at Benchmark), Peter Thiel with Founders Fund, and even Bill Gates. These names speak volumes about the confidence these top-tier investors placed in Madisch's vision.

Peter Thiel once remarked that Germany needs more ResearchGates. He was referring to the necessity for genuine innovation rather than copycat models that long characterized the German startup ecosystem.

Community Building and Network Effects

ResearchGate's success is built on strong community principles and network effects. Madisch explains the critical success factors for building a sustainable community and how viral growth develops.

A central concept is "Come for the tool, stay for the network" – users initially join for functionality but remain for the network. Instagram exemplifies this dynamic.

Exponential Growth Requires Patience

A key insight from Madisch's experience: exponential growth requires incredible patience. Many startups fail because they're unprepared for viral growth – a problem that Clubhouse also experienced.

In product development, the ResearchGate team relied on a mix of intuition and user feedback. Prioritization in product development was crucial to their success.

Innovation vs. Copycat

An intriguing topic is the discussion around German startups often being labeled as copycats. Madisch explains the fine line between copycat behavior and genuine innovation. At the beginning of the German startup ecosystem, copycats were actually a smart decision from a risk-return perspective.

Investors long preferred proven business models – a natural development process in any startup ecosystem. Today, this has changed, and genuine innovation receives stronger support.

Team and Personal Development

Another important aspect is recruiting. ResearchGate finds sufficient talent in Germany, demonstrating positive development in the local ecosystem.

Regarding team building, Madisch discusses founding with friends and how the founding team evolved over the years. Particularly interesting is his perspective on how he personally grew alongside the company.

Vision and Future

ResearchGate has become the central exchange platform for scientists. The next step involves expanding this position and finding new ways for scientists to collaborate even more effectively.

Madisch's story demonstrates that it's possible to build a globally relevant company from Germany that creates genuine societal value. With the right vision, patience, and focus on community building, world-class companies can be developed in the DACH region.

ResearchGate's journey proves that German founders can do more than create copycats – they can drive genuine innovation while convincing international top-tier investors in the process.